VA Recommendations to the AIR Commission

In accordance with the VA Mission Act of 2018, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has completed its Report, with recommendations, to the Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) Commission, for reconfiguring both the Veteran Health Administration’s (VHA) owned and leased property portfolio, addressing 95 geographic markets, to better serve the changing health care needs of the U.S. veteran population.  The Report proposes extensive realignment of the facilities that the VA owns and leases.  If the recommendations are adopted, the number of Community Based Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs) will decrease from 555 to 469; the number of Other Outpatient Services (OOS) facilities will drop from 255 to 169, and the number of Multi-Specialty Community-Based Outpatient Clinics (MS- CBOCS) will increase from 248 to 388.  The volatility in this portfolio is greater than these summary numbers suggest because in many cases, the Report recommends moving existing clinics from one town/community to another.  In other words, in over a hundred instances, while a clinic will remain in a market, it will not be the existing facility: the VA wants to move it to another locality, and the delineated area will not include the present location. 

The AIR Commission now has until Jan 31, 2023 to study and either accept or reject the set of recommendations.  Following Commission submission, the President has until Feb 15, 2023 to accept the recommendations (if he does not approve by March 30, the AIR process terminates);  Congress has 45 days from the time of Presidential submission to pass a resolution of disapproval, or the recommendations are considered final/adopted, and the VA must begin implementation with 3 years.  Much like the Base Realignment and Closure Commission process (BRAC), the role of these review entities is essentially to approve or reject the entirety of the recommendations, and not to engage in individual project editing. 

Below is a hyperlink to the VA’s web page containing the Report links.  Please note that the individual reports containing the recommendations for each of the VA’s 18 VISNs (Veterans Integrated Service Networks) can be found on the bottom of the Volume II webpage. 
 
https://www.va.gov/aircommissionreport/
 
The NFDA has scheduled a symposium on May 4, with the leadership of the VA, to discuss a number of topics, including the VA’s report to the AIR Commission.  This is a members-only event. Not a member? Learn more on the NFDA website or contact us at [email protected].

 

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